Faculty Council

Thursday, March 11, 2004, 11:45 a.m.

Cohen House, Esther M. Cohen Dining Room

Present: Ed Akin (Speaker), Lynne Huffer (Deputy Speaker), Stephen Baker, Steven Crowell, Deborah Harter, Tom Haskell, Patricia Reiff and Herb Ward. Absent: Marjorie Corcoran, Rebekah Drezek, Michael Emerson, Julia Morgan, Hannah Landecker, Bob Patten, Caroline Quenemoen and Mark Wiesner

(1) Minutes (2/19/04): The minutes were approved with some noted revisions and pending approval from President Gillis and Bill Barnett.

(2) Academic Calendar 2005/2006: University Council met on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 to review the academic calendar for 2005-2006. The following changes were made: 1. Move mid-term recess to 3/13-3/17 and 2. Delay Spring Recess by one-week to 4/13-4/14. The revised academic calendar was distributed to and approved by Faculty Council. The calendar will now be released to the Faculty and Student Organizations.

(3) Self-Scheduling of Exams: Registrarπs Office has suggested changes to the process for self-scheduled make-up exams redirecting students from the Registrarπs Office back to the individual departments. Faculty Council has received complaints from faculty members stating that this causes burden on faculty members and the Department. Another suggestion from faculty members is to reevaluate the concept of self-scheduled exams with Honor Council. This item will be discussed at the next Faculty Council meeting on March 23, 2004.

(4) On-Line Written Course Evaluations: The Student Association (SA) will be placing an article in the Thresher next week regarding posting of the written portion of the course evaluations on the web site for students to reference prior to registering for courses. It is proposed that the SA will hire an outside firm to transcribe and post the evaluations on the web. In the past, the Provost office has pushed for course evaluations to be placed entirely on-line. Recommendation was made to Faculty Council to discuss with Teaching Committee. Further discussion of this topic will be made at the next Faculty Council meeting.

(5) Courses for Distribution Credit: Committee on Undergraduate Curriculum submitted a revised draft of the Recommendation for Approving Courses for Distribution Credit to the University Council on Tuesday, March 9, 2004. University Council approved this revised draft, including the recommendations submitted by Faculty Council. A motion was made and approved to send Courses for Distribution Credit forward to discuss at the next General Faculty meeting.

(6) BS Degree in the Biosciences: The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has reviewed two new BS degrees in Biosciences, one in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and one in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The appropriate committees and University Council have approved both BS degrees. A motion was made and approved to the two BS degrees in Bioscience forward to discuss at the next General Faculty meeting.

(7) Master of Science Teaching: Patricia Reiff presented information on the proposed Master of Science Teaching program. She stated that the primary focus of the program is content enhancement in existing Science teachers. This proposed program, which is currently housed in Physics and is in the pilot phase, received unanimous approval by the Graduate Council. Members of the Faculty Council discussed several concerns with the proposed plan including issues with quality control and the perception of ≥diluting the Rice degree≤. Members agreed that the plan was based on a great idea, but stressed concerns regarding the limited faculty participation and diversity of course offerings. Patricia distributed the proposal and sample curriculum. She stated that she has people currently waiting to sign-up for the program. A motion was raised to put this item on the next University Council agenda. The motion passed with two members abstaining.

(8) Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 1:0 0 p.m., with the next Faculty Council business meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 2004, 11:45 a.m., Esther M. Cohen Dining Room, Cohen House.

Sarah Holloman

Executive Assistant

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